Kelly and her husband were doing everything right as young homeowners in rural Alabama. They bought their first house, made their payments, and built a stable home for their two small children. Then a difficult second pregnancy and serious illness after birth forced Kelly out of work. The family missed a few mortgage payments.
They entered a trial loan modification and sent in payments, only to have the loan sold and the process derailed. The new servicer stopped accepting payments and demanded more than twenty thousand dollars in a lump sum. Then Kelly’s house was posted for foreclosure just before Christmas. The family had saved ten thousand dollars, but it wasn’t enough to stop the sale. “I kept thinking, ‘We’ve done everything we’re supposed to do — how can we still lose our home?’” Kelly said.
Kelly refused to give up. She spent hours calling every support she could find, looking for someone who could help her keep the home where her children were growing up. One of those calls led her to Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Birmingham, a nonprofit housing counseling agency and member of the Fahe network. NHS Birmingham helps families navigate mortgages, prevent foreclosure, and stay stably housed by combining expert counseling with flexible, mission driven resources. “When NHS Birmingham said they could help, it felt like someone finally saw the whole picture of what we were going through,” said Kelly.
NHS counselor Shante listened to Kelly’s story and reviewed the family’s budget. She saw that Kelly and her husband could afford their monthly payment going forward; they just needed help clearing the past due amount. “Once we saw they could sustain the loan, our job was to move quickly and bridge that gap,” Shante said. She guided Kelly through an emergency foreclosure prevention application and moved quickly to meet the looming sale date. NHS Birmingham then used donor supported funds, combined with the family’s ten thousand dollars, to cover the full amount the servicer required and to stop the foreclosure.
Today, Kelly and her husband are current on their mortgage and raising their children in the only home they have known. Their story shows what is possible when community based housing organizations have the flexible capital they need to act fast. When we invest in groups like NHS Birmingham, more families can weather a crisis without losing their homes, and more communities can build lasting housing stability.
Join Us: Make More Housing Possible
Fahe invites you to join our movement for lasting change in Appalachia. If you’re facing housing challenges in disaster-impacted areas, submit an intake form to get the support you need—and if you can donate, partner with us, or advocate using our social media and toolkit resources, you play a crucial role in our shared mission. Whether you’re an investor ready to join us in doubling housing production, a policymaker poised to drive economic growth through state investments, or a local partner committed to community-informed solutions when disaster strikes, you are foundational to what we’re building.